“We can only build peace through speaking to each other.
The color of our skin or nationality does not matter.”
-Emiko Okada
肌の色が違おうと、国が違おうと、
出会いを大事にしたいんです。
人と人で対話をして、平和を作っていきたいのです。
I received the sad news that Mrs. Emiko Okada passed away on April 9th. I photographed Mrs. Okada in Hiroshima during 2010. She experienced the atomic bomb when she was eight years old, at her home 2.8km from the hypocenter. She devoted her life traveling the world to promote peace and the importance of nuclear disarmament.
Although Mrs. Okada endured living a difficult life, she never spoke begrudgingly. She describes herself as a “mouthpiece” for the departed.
“My sister was 12 years old. She went out and never came back.” Mrs. Okada’s elder sister has been missing since August 6th, 1945. Mrs. Emiko’s daughter has struggled against an incurable disease that decreases the number of blood platelets, most likely caused by the radiation that Mrs. Okada was exposed to.
I haven’t met many other individuals so devoted to teaching young people about peace and reconciliation. Mrs. Okada was 84 years old.
Mrs. Okada’s portrait a part of my From Above project which featured portraits of atomic bomb and firebombing survivors from WWII. My limited edition book is available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2=
Posts Tagged ‘Hibakusha’
Emiko Okada
Sunday, April 11th, 2021Asahi newspaper Nagasaki
Saturday, January 23rd, 2021..January 2021.. ..Nagasaki..
Yesterday the Asahi newspaper in Nagasaki included my opinion about the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which was enacted as international law on January 22nd. A big thank you to Mizuki Enomoto for asking me to contribute to her article.
I began photographing atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) in 2008 and will continue to do so until the last voice goes silent. In 2011 these portraits were published as a book, From Above. Everyday I think about the people I met in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Most have passed but their memory lives on when the treaty banning nuclear weapons arrives.
Setsuko Thurlow
Thursday, January 21st, 2021
“When I sit to write my recollections of that time, I have to brace myself to confront my memories of Hiroshima. It is exceedingly painful to do this because I become overwhelmed by my memories of grotesque and massive destruction and death.”
-Setsuko Thurlow, Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor
On January 22nd the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will be enacted as international law. I began photographing Mrs. Thurlow in 2011. From the moment we met her determination to fight for the abolition of nuclear weapons was evident. She was 13 years old when the atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. Mrs. Thurlow was a prominent advocate of the treaty that will ban nuclear weapons. She has waited almost all her life for this moment.
Everyday I think about the survivors I met in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Most have passed but their memory lives on when the treaty banning nuclear weapons arrives.
Itaru Takahara
Thursday, August 13th, 2020
..August 2020.. ..Nagasaki..
“Every portrait has a silent voice.” -Itaru Takahara
写真とは、 声なき声。 高原至
I received the sad news that Mr. Itaru Takahara passed away on August 5th. He was 97 years old. Takahara-san survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and the firebombing of Tokyo five months prior.
I photographed Takahara-san in July 2010 when my hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) portraits were exhibited in Nagasaki. Takahara-san was a famous photographer who published a book documenting the ruins of the Urakami Cathedral. The atomic bomb detonated over Urakami which was home to the largest cathedral in eastern Asia. The cathedral was smashed and half of it’s steeple was tossed down a hill. Takahara-san spent years after the war documenting children playing and services being held in it’s ruins.
When I first met Takahara-san he asked me where my book was. I laughed and told him that no publisher was willing to print a book of my hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) and firebombing survivor portraits. I jokingly told him if I ever got a book offer he would have to write the introduction. A week later I was interviewed by ZERO NEWS, a national television show in Japan. The next day I was offered a book deal in Japan. Takahara-san wrote the introduction to my book, FROM ABOVE, that still inspires me to live every moment with a burning passion.
Takahara-san was a brilliant photographer but was an even better person. He had an infectious laugh, a zeal for life and the same weakness for chocolate cakes that I have. He paid attention to every minute detail of a photograph and saw beauty in silence. He reinforced that the importance of a photograph came from the emotion it resonated! The feelings are all that matters.
I will miss Takahara-san but the years I knew him left a permanent smile in my soul. You’ll always be my friend.
You can see Takahara-san somewhere in the middle of this documentary shot about my project FROM ABOVE. http://www.paulepictures.com/blog/?p=6834
Masakatsu Obata
Wednesday, January 8th, 2020..January 2020.. ..Nagasaki..
I received the sad news that Mr. Masakatsu Obata passed away on December 12th, 2019, three days prior to his 102nd birthday. Mr. Obata was the first hibakusha, atomic bomb survivor, I ever met.
During our meeting I felt overwhelmed whilest he described his experiences on August 9th, 1945 and the days after. I had never heard such vivid descriptions of what had happened. Because it was my first conversation, I was overwhelmed. I don’t remember much and always have to look back at my notes when speaking about Mr. Obata’s testimony.
I’ve returned to Nagasaki many times since September 2008 but that was the only time we met.
When I took this portrait he was already 90 years old. I remember that he had as much energy as I did. We walked across to the park near the hypocenter and took the first portrait of what became the From Above project that has defined my career and who I am. From Above was published as a book and has so far been exhibited on three continents.
I’m grateful for Mr. Obata allowing me to begin my journey learning about the hibakusha and the horrors of nuclear war.
Ron Schlote
Thursday, November 14th, 2019
“After the war I saw the photo of the mushroom cloud, but I thought they should have shown photos of the people underneath. It’s a bloody shame!” -Ron Schlote
A few weeks ago I was informed that Mr. Ron Scholte passed away last autumn at the age of 94.
Ron Scholte was serving in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) when he was taken as a prison of war by the Japanese when they invaded Java in 1942 and later sent to Fukuoka Camp 14 in Nagasaki. He was used as a forced laborer until the end of the war in August 1945. He was one of 120 Dutch POWs to survive the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
I had the privilege of photographing Mr. Scholte in January 2015. I had learned about his story and it took me a long time to find him. Even on the day of our meeting my train connections to the southern Netherlands were delayed because of a small snowstorm in Amsterdam. I arrived at his home as the sunset, hours late, and snapped this photograph when I caught him glimpsing out a window as I walked to the front door.
I didn’t think this would be the portrait I would use in the project. But as time passed and I thought about his story it made sense. When I look at this photograph, he is beginning to fade away in the reflection of the landscape. A few years prior, he had begun writing down his experiences in Nagasaki because he was diagnosed with dementia. The story was too important to be lost in his fading mind so I’m grateful he had documented his experiences in great detail. That day he was able to speak for hours about what he had seen in Nagasaki.
He was living alone but shortly after my visit was moved to an elderly home as his mind rapidly deteriorated. He lived a little less than four years after we met.
Not many people know that there were Dutch POW’s affected by the atomic bomb. Most of them died from various forms of cancer within ten years of 1945. The majority of Dutch people I speak to about Mr. Schlote and Mr. Buchel, the other Dutch POW I photographed, are shocked to learn about their stories.
戦後きのこ雲の写真を見たが、きのこ雲ではなく、その下の人々の写真を見せるべきだと私は思った。非常に残念でならない。
日本が1942年ジャワ島を侵略した当時、彼はオランダ帝国東インド軍におりに、日本の捕虜にされた。その後長崎にある福岡俘虜収容所第14分所へ移送された。1945年8月の終戦まで、彼は強制労働者として使われた。彼は長崎原爆生存者である120人のオランダ人捕虜のうちの1人である。
by the river…6pm sunset…hypocenter, Nagasaki
Friday, August 9th, 2019..Nagasaki..
..Where I realized how to love people..By myself..by the river…6PM sunset 1 block from hypocenter..
..Where I realized why I traveled across the world to meet these people..Where I found emotion in Nagasaki..
..The first time I saw the reflection in the small stream running next to the epicenter, this was when the devastation hit me. It’s one of the most moving photos I took. Peaceful but remorseful.
..I first saw the reflection of the archway in the shallow water. As August 9th, 1945 grew older the pile of bodies multiplied in the canal. Eventually making a dam of corpses which stopped the running water. The corpses piled almost to the top of the 20 foot archway.
Along with the reflection of the archway, I can see the reflection of innocent that didn’t need to die. Why did this happen? It didn’t need to. This image has more of an effect on me than the epicenter. How can a scene so peaceful be a grave 64 years ago?
..Where I realized what happened. Where I realized war is fucking shit..that kills the innocent..
First visit to the hypocenter
Thursday, August 8th, 2019..Nagasaki September 7th,2008..
One hour after train ride, little before sunset. First time at the hypocenter
..I thought the hypocenter would have drawn more of a crowd. Only 2 ladies and a father playing with his son wandering across the spot where one of the world’s greatest atrocities took place. The grass was very thin and spotted yellow from a summer long soaking of intense sunshine. Looked like any park in a forgotten neighborhood.
..September 8th, 2007 Second time at the epicenter, Nagasaki..
Walked to the epicenter at 6:30AM. A Japanese man walking across the park. Stops and bows in front of the monument. A deep bow. A sign of great respect. Continues to his destination. I wonder if this is how he starts most of his days?
Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, Hiroshima
Sunday, August 4th, 2019
August 6th, 1945, Hiroshima hypocenter
Friday, August 2nd, 2019